WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Jeb Hensarling, the lone member of Congress on the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel today offered the following dissenting views to the Panel’s December Report on whether Treasury has properly discharged its Congressional mandate under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008--the enabling statute for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

“If one acknowledges and thoughtfully analyzes the intended and unintended consequences of the program and the manner in which it was implemented by Treasury one can not help but conclude that TARP is failing its mandate,” said Congressman Hensarling.  “In offering the following summary of my findings on Treasury’s implementation of TARP I must also strongly oppose the use of TARP as a $700 billion revolving bailout fund to promote the Democrat’s political, social and economic agenda.”

“TARP was originally sold as an emergency injection of liquidity to thaw frozen credit markets and that, when repaid, the funds would be used to reduce the deficit.  According to press reports, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi both advocate tapping TARP funds to pay for programs unrelated to the financial emergency that our economy faced in 2008,” said Hensarling.  “That is why I have rallied my fellow Republicans to oppose this ploy in the strongest possible terms.”

“The irresponsible and potentially unlawful proposal to use the money taxpayers were forced to put on the line to bailout Wall Street during last year’s credit crisis is of a piece with many of the concerns I have about how TARP has been implemented by Treasury,” concluded Congressman Hensarling.  “If TARP is not wound-up on December 31, 2009 and the money repaid to the Treasury, the abuses of the TARP program as evidenced by the Chrysler, GM and GMAC bailouts, misguided foreclosure mitigation programs and the re-animation of reckless behavior and moral hazard risks created by the Administration’s lending-for-the-sake-of-lending programs will only grow.”